Talking Tourism

Highlights of 2020 showcased in end of year video

While the impact of COVID-19 has resulted in an unprecedented year for our tourism industry, we’ve still been able to come together to achieve some great results and lock in some exciting events for the future. From starting off the year with record tourism numbers and spend, we adapted when COVID-19 hit to offer support to our tourism operators affected by the pandemic. Despite the challenges, we still chalked up some wins to be proud of, including hosting ATP Cup, welcoming the first Shanghai to Perth direct flight and the epic Perth Festival Highway to Hell event to name just a few. But don’t just read about it, check out the video on our corporate You Tube channel.

Helloworld partnership a bonus for Perth region

We’ve launched a significant marketing partnership with leading Australian-based travel company, Helloworld, to support tourism in the Perth region. It will run through December into early February in the eastern states with the offer of a ‘bonus bundle’ for longer accommodation bookings at Perth and Fremantle hotels. Bookings of three nights will receive a complimentary $150 tour and experience voucher and bookings of five nights will receive a complimentary $300 tour and experience voucher. The deal encourages interstate visitors to stay longer in WA and enjoy more of what the Perth region has to offer, while also providing an incentive for visitors to support tour and experience operators. The accommodation offer will be promoted through press, digital, social and in-store advertising and will be supported by an agent sales incentive.

Perth secures Youth Water Polo events

The State’s tourism industry and sporting events calendar is receiving a boost, with Tourism WA securing the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships for January 2022 and January 2025. The AYWPC is an annual national competition for water polo players under the age of 18. The competition has four age divisions, in which individuals compete for their club or school and also includes the International Test Series. The event is expected to bring thousands of visitors to WA, including competitors, their support crews and spectators. Read more here.

Premium Albany hotel a top tourism addition

Middleton Beach in Albany will get a quality new hotel following the sale of a prime waterfront development site. A consortium between Pacifica Developments and Ausglobal group were the successful buyers, and the Seashells Group will be the hotel operator. The planned four-star plus hotel will offer up to 100 rooms and will feature beach-front dining options. The hotel is the centrepiece of the Middleton Beach Activity Centre redevelopment, which will include residential and mixed-use homes in the precinct. Tourism WA has worked closely with Development WA to encourage a quality tourism accommodation outcome for this waterfront location. Read more here. 

Tourism WA campaign win

Tourism WA’s campaign with John Brown Media won Silver in the Best Use of Monetised Content at the International Content Marketing Awards. The award recognised a UK campaign with upmarket British supermarket, Waitrose & Partners, in which Tourism WA collaborated with the South Australian Tourism Commission and Qatar Airways to showcase why readers of its Food magazine should choose WA and SA for their next long-haul holiday. Inspiring content on Perth, the Kimberley and Australia’s South West was promoted across the magazine, website and app, supported by a reader event, wine promotion and digital campaign, which resulted in increased bookings to Perth with Qatar Airways.

Chinese Live Stream awarded

Tourism WA’s first season of live streams on Chinese social media giant, Ma Feng Wo, has won two Chinese marketing awards. Aligned to the Adventure Awaits campaign, the series was developed to keep Western Australia top of mind for Chinese visitors when the time is right to travel again. The live streams won Ma Feng Wo’s Best Innovation Marketing award. The campaign also picked up a Best Destination Marketing Award by Pinchain, a popular Chinese media outlet. The series broke viewing records attracting more than 260,500 viewers across five episodes and earning more than $1.8 million in PR value for Western Australia. Thanks to our industry partners including LH Global and more than 20 WA tourism operators who were involved in making this first season a resounding success.

Turning Singaporeans Dreaming into Planning

Our trade and consumers are being encouraged to dream and plan while adventure awaits in Western Australia. To date, the Tourism WA Singapore and Malaysia team has trained 1,346 Singapore and Malaysia agents. Agents were given training in individual products while others received a refresher course on WA. The training means agents have up-to-date information and knowledge of the State in preparation for when travel resumes. The team is also working closely with key agents on live streaming sessions to help them inspire their customers to plan for travel to Western Australia, when the time is right. More live shows are scheduled for later this month and in January 2021. Watch the video here. 

UK Trailfinders agents capture Australia’s Coral Coast on canvas

This week Trailfinders agents and product managers took part in a virtual painting class via Zoom, re-creating the picturesque landscape of Francois Peron National Park on Australia’s Coral Coast. Invitations to the painting class, which was organised through our UK office, were sent to a select group of Trailfinders agents who completed WA training on the Aussie Specialist program in December. Paint, canvases, artist beret and bubbles were delivered to homes across the UK to take part in the immersive virtual event.